Watermelon seeds

The month of May is graduation time and graduation makes me think of watermelon seeds. watermelon seeds? Let me explain...

Students graduating from high school or college are under lots of pressure these days. The pressure comes from all around: parents, friends, teachers and society at large. There are lots of external expectations that graduates must face. Are you planning on attending the “best school”? Are you getting a “good job”? Are you living the life we all expected you to live?

After the big day, most graduates get launched into a direction in their lives that they may or may not have thought about very much. It's like a watermelon seed being squeezed between your finger and thumb. The pressure builds and then suddenly, the watermelon seed flies out into some random direction. Usually, the seed lands somewhere where it won't receive enough water, sun or cultivation. The seed eventually dries up and never produces the watermelon that everyone had hoped for.

Every watermelon seed holds the promise of a juicy, tasty watermelon. However, watermelons will only grow if they are planted properly, watered often and given plenty of sun. In other words, watermelon seeds need to do what is natural to them in an environment where they can thrive.

So do people.

High school and college graduates are full of energy and bursting with ideas and dreams of the future. However, high school students often choose their college because of everyone else’s expectations. Their parents want them to attend the “best school” possible. There is competition amongst friends to see who gets accepted into the best known school. College graduates feel compelled to get a job – any job - that pays well and gives them “options.” “Pays well” usually means being able to pay off the enormous loan they needed to get through the “best school.” And, jobs that give you options usually mean a salary and benefits to help them move out of their
parents homes and join the workforce.

Young adults need to step back and find their passions – and then go out and find a college or a career that will allow them to do what is natural to them in an environment that will cultivate and support them. Why do you think the attrition rate is so high during the first year of college? Why do you think the majority of people are unhappy with the career they have chosen?
They are watermelon seeds that have launched into a direction not of their choosing.

High school students: Before you pick that college, step back and really think about what you want to learn and want you want to do after college. I know it’s hard because of the pressure you face from your parents to get into the “best school” and the pressure from your friends to get into a “brand name” college or university.

College students: You’ve made your choice for higher education but your major and your degree should not define who you will be. Think deeply about your interests, skills, and passions and then find a way to live a life where you will grow happy, satisfied and fully engaged in your worklife.

Does any of this ring true with you? Tell me about the pressures you’ve faced. How have you dealt with the expectations and the pressure to live out everyone else’s dreams for you?